German Econ Min: Sights Not Fixed On Particular Opel Investor

The German government hasn't fixed its sights on any particular potential investor in General Motors Corp.'s (GM) German unit Opel, Economics Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg said Friday.

"At the moment, everything in this respect is open," he said, adding it would be "absurd" at this point to make any preliminary decisions that could compromise Opel's negotiating position.

Both Italian carmaker Fiat SpA (F.MI) and Austrian-Canadian auto parts manufacturer Magna International Inc.(MG.A.T) have presented plans for a possible Opel takeover, he said. The Fiat plan is more detailed, while Magna's is more a rough concept, but Magna is still working on refining its plan, the minister said.

A plan for General Motors Europe must be developed at the European level, zu Guttenberg said, adding potentially interested investors should keep this in mind.

Right now nobody wants the group to be broken up and the remaining parts allocated, he said.

Web sites: www.fiat.com; www.opel.de; www.magna.com;

www.bmwi.de

-By Beate Preuschoff; Dow Jones Newswires; [phone]; [e-mail]